Crowdfunding a Skyscraper

The largest buildings in the world have come to exist through the pocketbooks of very rich people. But industrialists and oil sheikhs shouldn't be the only ones who can scrape the sky. A new crowd-sourced financing model out of Colombia shows that regular Joes – in sufficient quantities – can fund their own megatall building.

The BD Bacatá in downtown Bogotá is a proposed $240 million, 66-story skyscraper. Instead of relying on one developer, the project is being funded through a sale of shares in the building. More than 3,000 people have invested, raising more than $145 million. When completed in 2014, it will be the tallest building in Columbia.

The share model – known as FiDis and being pushed by a group called FiDi Global – has been used before to fund and divide ownership for other projects in Colombia, including clubs, amusement parks and hotels.